1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recorder for recording an input image on a recording medium, e.g., a paper sheet and, more particularly, to a digital copier.
2. Discussion of the Background
It is a common practice with a copier to reproduce an input image faithfully on a paper sheet or similar recording medium. Therefore, the orientation of the image reproduced on a paper sheet depends on that of the document image to be read. It follows that when a stack of documents to be copied are partly oriented in one direction and partly in the other direction with respect to top and bottom, the resulting reproductions are also oriented in opposite directions. Moreover, in a copier operable in a two-sided copy mode, a paper sheet carrying an image on one side thereof is turned over to form another image on the other side thereof. It is likely with this type of copier that the images formed on both sides of the paper sheet are opposite to each other with respect to the top and bottom direction since the paper sheet is turned over. Specifically, assume that documents on which writings printed laterally, as in this specification, are positioned such that their to-and-bottom direction coincides with an intended direction of paper transport. As such documents are reproduced in the two-sided copy mode, the first line on the front of a paper sheet and adjoining the upper edge (leading ede) of the paper sheet is positioned in the vicinity of the lower edge (trailing edge) of the rear of the paper sheet after the turn-over. More specifically, the last line on the rear substantially coincides with the first line on the front, i.e., the top-and-bottom direction differs from the front to the rear. To eliminate this problem, every other document may be turned upside down, or the documents may be repositioned to make their top-and-bottom direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction. This, however, imposes a troublesome task on the operator.
Moreover, even when a writing is written laterally throughout a stack of documents, it may occur that some documents are vertically long while the others are horizontally long. In such a case, it is impossible to position the stack such that the top-and-bottom direction does not coincide with the paper feed diretion throughout the documents, i.e., a writing is unavoidably reproduced upside down on the rear of some copies.
A copier capable of eliminating the problems discussed above has not been reported yet.